In the fourth chapter of the text, titled “Food and Beverage Operations”, the author discusses the various facets of the of the food and beverage services typically provided by a hotel along with the nature of managing those services. The chapter begins with informing the reader that the food and beverage department of a hotel is headed by what is known as a director of food and beverage. It continues by outlining the responsibilities of this individual; these include overseeing that the kitchen,bars, restaurants and catering services are being operated in an efficient and profitable manner. In addition, this director is also tasked with supervising room service. According to the text, this position results in the director having an obligatory interest in identifying trends in the hospitality industry and a partial responsibility in organizing special events. The text continues next by elaborating on the hotel kitchen. The hotel kitchen is the domain of its executive chef. The executive chef must ensure the quality and quantity of food. They’re are tasked with producing and maintaining the organization of the kitchen, this includes delegating specific duties to those employed in the kitchen and monitoring financial performance. Furthermore, the chapter goes on to mention that larger hotels tend to have both formal and casual restaurant options. These restaurants are either independent enterprises or they’re directly attached to the hotel’s operations. It then discusses bars as a lucrative revenue center, but one fraught with liability. From that point the chapter takes a turn to focus in on the two remaining pillars of a hotel’s food and beverage operations, stewardship and catering.

In the latter part of the chapter, the text delves into the unsung hero that is the chief steward. The chief steward is the position in the food and beverage department that is tasked with ensuring that the kitchen and all the tools used in the preparation and serving of food are kept clean. They must also maintain other areas under the purview of their department, such as the backstage of the hotel. In addition, they are charged with implementing pest control. From here, the text turns its attention to the pivotal function of catering. Catering is typically categorized as either on-premise or off- premise. Hotels provide catering for events like conventions, weddings, dinners and meeting. The nature of the catering service and its organization are predicated on the event being catered to. Ultimately, catering features prominently in a food beverage department’s repertoire because it is procedurally a highly complex affair involving many parties. The chapter concludes by sharing the evolving nature of room service, and how many in the hotel industry use it strategically to boost guest satisfaction.

Key Terms

1. Banquet- The current head of state will typically throw a lavish banquet in honor of a visiting foreign dignitary.
2. Banquet event order (BEO)-  Hotel personnel who are involved in catering an event can find out there duties by referring to the banquet event order
3. Brigade- The tasks of the of the kitchen are usually delegated according to the brigade system.
4. Capture rate- A hungry but lazy guest is always great for a hotel’s capture rate.
5. Catering- Though very lucrative, catering large events can be very taxing for a hotel kichen.
6. Catering coordinator-  Any  contract involving catering on the part of a hotel must be reviewed by its catering coordinator.
7. Catering event order (CEO)- See banquet event order (BEO).
8. Catering services manager (CSM)- When an event space is not set-up as a client expected, the blame will fall the catering services manager.
9. Chef tournant-  One can say that a chef tournant is a sort of Jack of all trades.
10. Chief steward- For a general manager to appreciate the cleanliness of their kitchen, they must appreciate the work of the chief steward.
11. Classroom- style seating- If the guest of an event are expected to take notes, then the organizers should implement classroom-style seating.
12. Contribution margin- The kitchen of a hotel must sell a certain amount of a food item to justify its contribution margin.
13. Dinner-style room seating- When dinner is a primary draw for an event, it stands to reason that the organizers will implement dinner-style seating.
14. Director of catering (DOC)- The director of catering is the one ultimately responsible for the execution and profitability of all catering activities.
15. Director of food and beverage- A general manager who is displeased with the quality of food being produced in their hotel must deal directly with the director of food and beverage to solve the problem.
16. Executive chef- The hotel kitchen is generally run by the executive chef.
17. Food cost percentage- Determining food cost percentages is integral to establishing the profitability of a hotel’s food and beverage outlets.
18. Food sales percentage- A hotel kitchen typically expresses the cost of labor in the food sales percentage.
19. Horseshoe-style room seating- Organizers  of an event can facilitate interaction between guest by utilizing horseshoe-style room seating.
20. Kitchen manager- Certain multi-faceted executive chefs are referred to as kitchen managers.
21. Labor cost percentage-  A labor cost percentage of a hotel kitchen can fluctuate on whether the items they produce are made from scratch.
22. Perpetual inventory- A hotel kitchen can monitor cost by using software that establishes a perpetual inventory.
23. Pilferage- An experienced restaurant owner will certainly always remember to account for pilferage when reviewing inventory.\
24. Pour/Cost percentage- The efficiency of any bar operation is measured by its pour/cost percentage.
25. Responsible alcoholic beverage services- An establishment runs the risk of being held legally liable if doesn’t promote and enforce responsible alcoholic beverage services.
26. Restaurant manager- A restaurant manager is a restaurant’s equivalent to a hotel’s general manager.
27. Room service-  A hotel guest can be surprised how expensive regularly ordering room service can get.
28. Shopper- The employees of a hotel bar should always remain conscience of the possibility that any given customer could be a shopper.
29. Sous chef- Sous chefs tend to work under executive chefs in the kitchen
30. Station chef- A vegetable chef is the station chef charged with preparing vegetables.
31. Theater-style room seating- Events that involve audiovisual presentations usually conform to theater-style seating.